Man...I miss my mullet. (And my mom, despite the fact that she had nothing to do with this publication. It's neither hair nor there.)

Anywho, we hope that you enjoyed last month's edition. In case you missed it, you can always go onto our website and check out the Newsletter & Blog Page with a full archive of all blogs, past and present. A lot of good content on that page, so be sure to check it out!

This edition's Blog Post is brought to you by our very own Katie Woodilla, Owner of Bomber Fitness. (I bet you are wondering where that name came from -- turns out her father flew B52 Bombers in the Air Force. She, too, is a badass.)

So, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to November's edition of the PEX NLB.

Yours truly,

MC

Think about extending your warm-up times by a few minutes, depending on the conditions. When it comes to your post-workout cool down, plan accordingly. Protection against wind, ice, and snow is no joke. If you plan on being outside during any part of your workout, be conscientious about what you are wearing. Light layers, moisture-wicking fabrics, and protective coverings for your head, hands, and neck will go a long way.

Lastly, whether or not you are exercising at high intensities, it is important to drink plenty of water to keep the body as hydrated as possible. It appears obvious, but many of us neglect it. Dehydration can lead to multiple health risks such as fainting spells, fatigue, headaches, and a general decrease in energy. Hydration is key when keeping our bodies in the best condition, especially when the body expels so much more energy to keep us moving. Fatigue comes upon us quickly. We have to watch ourselves to make sure we are drinking water consistently throughout the entire day.

That’s all for now! Stay safe, stay covered, and stay healthy. Don’t let the snowflakes deter you from achieving your goals. Adapt as needed and crush it.

Katie

Seriously, though. This is a thing. A lot of people poo-poo isolation exercises, and typically it's because those people don't understand the secondary and tertiary levels of motor control it takes to properly perform an isolation movement. (For those of you keeping track at home, an isolation movement is an exercise that involves the dynamic movement of exactly one joint, i.e. the elbow joint during the bicep curl.)

You've all seen it, too; the guy or gal at the gym doing triceps press-downs on the cable machine -- every time they press down their elbows flare out, their shoulders roll forwards, their traps and rhomboids lift & contract, and their thoracic spine extends and flexes. Hardly the movement of just one joint. (More often than not, this is the result of the weights being too heavy.)

Why is this bad? Well the irony is the muscle you're trying to isolate, in this case the triceps, ends up getting less direct stimulation. Other muscles take over and/or over contribute to the desired task, and the muscle you were trying to isolate gets lost in the shuffle. You create compensatory (potentially injurious) movement patterns, and you lose the benefits of being able to hold an isometric posture while moving one joint through a dynamic range of motion.

So, the next time you set out to do a triceps press-down or a leg extension, try to keep every other part of your body completely stiff and motionless. You will notice three things:

1) The exercise is considerably harder than you've conditioned yourself to believe.

2) You will have to lighten the weight significantly.

3) You've been doing them incorrectly your whole life.

You're welcome.

No.

Think about every time you skipped a workout because you "didn't have enough time." Or, even better, the people who skip exercise all together because they don't have enough time to get their workouts in. Well, just how much time to do you actually need to see real benefits?

Honestly, it could be as little as 15-minutes. You just need to plan ahead and know what to do in the time that you have. Take cardiovascular conditioning, for example; if you are short on time, do 10 to 15 minutes of high-intensity intervals. Need proof? Check out this meta-analysis on cardiovascular training that compared short bouts of interval training to long bouts of steady-state-cardio.

Here's a little excerpt, straight from the hare's mouth:

Next time you can't bring yourself to workout, you can use the excuse I recently received from a vendor I interviewed for services at the gym, "my apologies for the late response, I was busy competing at the National Wiffle Ball Championship."

Touché, sir.

There. I said it.

In other words, in order to get fitter, leaner, and stronger, you have to consistently train harder (lift more weight, do more reps, take less rest, etc.) than your previous session(s). If you are constantly doing the same weights, reps, rest periods, sets, etc., you are depriving your body the stimulus it needs to become a Greek God or Goddess.

(This also means that you need a program, your program has to have workouts you can repeat, and you have to know what kind of weights and intervals to start at so you can progress week-to-week. But that is a tirade for another time.)

While training hard has its' perks (strength, speed, endurance, increased muscle tone, decreased fat mass, increased energy, etc.) it also comes at a cost: you will have aches and pains. Put more bluntly, if you are training hard, it will hurt a little bit. If it doesn't, you probably ain't training with enough intensity to elicit any progressive changes to your musculature, body composition. metabolism, 401(k), or your 529.

Now, this does not mean you have to grind yourself into dust the next time you step foot in the gym, but it does mean that you aren't going to wind up in the ICU if your hamstring is a little tender after a hard lower-body session. It also means if you haven't been sore in the last seven years, it's time to pick it up smidge.

I expect to see a few smidges this week.

1) Needham Spooky Walk – It was so much fun handing out tricks or treats to the little kiddies last Saturday for Needham Spooky Walk. We had a blast seeing all of the great costumes come through the door at PEX. Our favorite was the little one dressed as a bunch of grapes. We hope all of the families that participated had as much fun as we did!

2) PEX Medfield Opening – PEX Medfield is still on track to open before the end of 2021. Buildout is still going as planned, factoring in all of the equipment and supply delay curveballs that were thrown at us. Our monthly newsletter and our social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram, @pexhealthandfitness) will be the place to go to find real-time updates as we zero in on a grand opening date for PEX Medfield!

3) New Coaches – PEX in Needham is actively interviewing part-time physical therapists, massage therapists and acupuncturists! We are also actively interviewing and building a team for the new PEX Medfield! Are you (or do you know of) a fitness professional in the greater Boston area, looking to advance beyond the typical gym-trainer experience? If so, shoot us a message! We also want to congratulate John Chapple, Mike Shea, Katie Woodilla, Erika Burton, and Amy Kuphal for officially joining the PEX Team!

4) PEX Ambassador Program – Reminder! At PEX Health and Fitness, we understand the importance of maintaining an immaculate reputation, and we also know the value of word-of-mouth marketing. To express our gratitude to our clients for recommending PEX Health and Fitness to others, all current PEX Health and Fitness clients are eligible to be a part of our Client Ambassador Program!